Related Terms

A database that uses a system's main memory for data storage rather than the disk-based storage typically utilized by traditional databases. In-memory databases, or IMDBs, are frequently employed in high-volume environments where response time is critical, as access times and database requests are typically considerably faster when system memory is used as opposed to disk storage, particularly hard drive storage.

In-memory databases are also sometimes referred to as main memory database systems, or MMDBs, and have become more popular in recent years for handing High-Performance Computing (HPC) and Big Data applications. The distinction between traditional databases and in-memory databases has been blurred recently with the advent of hybrid databases, which support both in-memory and disk-based storage in order to maximize performance as well as reliability.